E-Financial
eNaira: CBN Rallies PSPs, Fintechs to Deepen Adoption
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday said it was working with key stakeholders in the payment system ecosystem to boost the adoption of its digital currency known as the eNaira.
The stakeholders, particularly Payment Service Providers (PSPs) and a community of fintech groups, after a one-day engagement with the apex bank in Lagos, resolved to partner to ensure more adoption of the CBDC in the country.
Speaking at the meeting, Mrs. Rakiya Mohammed,director, Information Technology Department (ITD), CBN, explained that the apex bank was neither competing with the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) nor other actors in the Nigerian payment system environment.
Essentially, the engagement was in continuation of the bank’s strategy to bring all stakeholders on board what Mohammed described as a journey.
She said the CBN remained open to suggestions and innovation aimed at adding value to the eNaira and improving the user experience.
The CBN director urged the payment service providers (including the large community of fintech groups) to find more innovative ways to support members of the public, where possible, in the onboarding process and use of eNaira as well as develop solutions for offline eNaira functions including cards, wearables, USSD, among others.
While also admonishing the licenced PSPs to create additional use cases for the eNaira, she tasked licenced PSPs to create additional products and services across the full spectrum of the financial system using eNaira.
Mohammed further disclosed that the full implementation of the eNaira, which started with the onboarding of the banked, would be done in four phases, culminating in offline eNaira payments solutions, cross-border payment and interoperability of the eNaira with those of other central banks.
However, their taking turns, representatives of the different stakeholder groups welcomed the introduction of the eNaira and expressed support for its adoption and use.
They also made value-added proposals for the market and integration process to drive financial inclusion by bridging the gap between the banked and the unbanked.
Also, going forward, the CBN team and the different stakeholder groups agreed to meet periodically to review the progress made to enable more Nigerians access eNaira.
On the CBN team were the Director, Banking Services Department, Samuel Okojere; Director, Payment System Management Depart, Musa Jimoh; Director, Risk Management, Dr. Blaise Ijebor; the Director, Financial Policy and Regulations Department, Mr. Chibuzor Efobi; and the Special Adviser to the CBN Governor on Payment Systems, Mary Fasheitan.
The different groups present at the engagement were from Payment Service Banks, Switching and Processing companies; Mobile Money Operators; Payment Solution Service Provider; Payment Terminal Service Providers; and Super Agents.
Also present were representatives of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN); the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS); Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities (SANEF); and the Committee of banking Industry Heads.
CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, had said the eNaira would support a resilient payment ecosystem, encourage rapid financial inclusion, reduce the cost of processing cash, enable direct and transparent welfare intervention to citizens and increase revenue and tax collection. Also, he had said the eNaira would facilitate diaspora remittances, reduce the cost of financial transactions, and improve the efficiency of payments.
Emefiele added, “Therefore, the eNaira is Nigeria’s CBDC and it is the digital equivalent of the physical naira. As the tagline simply encapsulates, the eNaira is the same naira with far more possibilities.”
Meanwhile, as part of efforts by the federal government to make sure every eligible Nigerian own a bank account and be financially included, the central bank yesterday commenced the digital inclusion drive for woman and youths in Bayelsa State.
Introducing the scheme in Kaima, Kolokuma/Opokuma local government area of the state, the state Governor, Senator Douye Diri, advised rural dwellers in the state that the only way they could benefit from various governments micro-credit and empowerment programmes and be financially included was by having valid bank accounts.
The governor who encouraged the rural dwellers in the state to take advantage of the CBN financial inclusion drive to open their bank accounts, noted that the present administration in the state has various financial and empowerments programmes, and others in partnership with the federal government, which can only be access through a bank account.
Diri, who was represented by a Permanent Secretary in the office of the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Anthony Orwells, said, “There are a number of empowerment programmes, a number of them the state government is in partnership with the CBN and other federal institutions while some of them are entirely by the state government.
“However, you will need a bank account to be financially included through a bank account, hence the need to encourage financial inclusion to ensure everyone including the rural dwellers benefits and is carried along in the scheme of things.”
In his speech, Yusuf Yila, director, Development Finance Department of the CBN, said the nation’s apex bank has discovered that most rural dwellers could not be captured for various empowerment initiatives because of bank accounts, which necessitated the financial inclusion drive.
Represented by Mrs. Augustina Osuya, head of Development Finance, CBN, Yenagoa branch, he explained that the financial inclusion drive was expected to, among other things, improve financial literacy and build awareness on the benefits of the use of digital financial services and contribute to increased access to payments, savings and credit enhancement opportunities for rural women and youth across the country leveraging digital platforms.
He pointed out that the scheme was aimed at empowering and bringing more women and youth across Nigeria into the finance ecosystem in line with the CBN digital financial inclusion project.
While calling on the rural women and youths to grab the opportunity to open their bank accounts, he urged financial institutions to join and take the exercise seriously to bring all financially excluded on board.
In her remark, the Woman Leader of Kaiama Mrs Tonbra Egbegi, commended the CBN for bringing the initiative to their doorsteps and saying that the drive will give the rural women and youth the opportunity to open their bank accounts conveniently without having to travel to the state capital.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced stricter rules guiding the use and management of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) as part of efforts to reduce fraudulent transactions within the financial system.The revised framework, which takes effect from May 1, includes tighter controls on BVN enrolment, data access and customer information updates.
The apex bank said the measures are aimed at strengthening identity management, improving fraud monitoring and safeguarding the integrity of banking transactions.
Under the new guidelines, BVN enrolment is now restricted to individuals aged 18 and above, while customers will only be allowed to change the phone number linked to their BVN once.
The restriction is designed to curb identity manipulation often exploited by fraudsters through repeated updates of personal information.
The CBN also directed financial institutions to maintain a temporary watchlist for BVNs linked to suspicious transactions.
Affected BVNs may be flagged for up to 24 hours, during which customers are expected to verify or clarify flagged transactions before further action is taken.
In addition, access to BVN data has been tightened, with the apex bank retaining exclusive control over the database while granting access only to licensed financial institutions under defined conditions.
The move, according to the CBN, is expected to enhance data security and support a more resilient financial system as BVN enrolment continues to grow.
Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission has given the nod to 11 crypto trading platforms to participate in its new regulatory sandbox programme, its first major step in support of crypto after passing a law to provide the local market with regulatory clarity in December.
The big news however is that Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume is nowhere on the list, raising questions about the crypto exchange’s future in one of West Africa’s fastest-growing digital asset markets.
Newsghana reported that industry analysts covering the sandbox launch specifically flagged Binance as a notable absent player, alongside Yellow Card, whose mobile payment product Yellow Pay had previously been warned against by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) for operating without authorisation. Neither company has publicly explained its absence from the cohort.
For Binance, the omission carries particular weight. The exchange has cultivated a visible presence in Ghana for several years, including direct engagement with regulators, public financial literacy campaigns, and the presence of senior representatives in Accra.
Despite that groundwork, it did not secure a place in the inaugural sandbox when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published its list of approved Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) on March 10, 2026.
Analysts have pointed to Binance’s ongoing legal battle in neighbouring Nigeria as a factor likely complicating its regulatory position across the region.
And the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) is pursuing Binance for an $81.5 billion claim covering alleged economic losses and unpaid taxes, arguing the exchange has a significant economic presence that makes it liable for corporate income tax for 2022 and 2023, along with a 10 percent annual penalty on outstanding amounts.
The stakes of remaining outside Ghana’s regulatory framework are rising fast.
The BoG made clear on March 5, 2026, that all VASPs operating within Ghana’s jurisdiction including those serving Ghanaian residents through digital platforms with no physical office in the country must register with the Bank.
Firms that do not comply face sanctions and potential disqualification from future licensing.
Ghana’s digital asset market has grown rapidly, recording over $10 billion in cryptocurrency transactions by November 2025, up from roughly $6 billion the year before, making it one of West Africa’s most active markets.
With over three million users estimated to be active in the ecosystem, the country represents a market Binance cannot easily afford to be shut out of through regulatory non-compliance.
The eleven sandbox participants will effectively serve as the reference models for what a compliant licensed VASP looks like under Ghana’s framework.
Those that perform well within the first six months may transition to full licensing early, while those that fall short risk being shut out of the regulated market once the sandbox period concludes.
Binance did not respond to a request for comment before publication. The SEC Ghana and BoG have not publicly commented on why specific companies were excluded from the first sandbox cohort.
World Bank Group has debarred three African subsidiaries of global advisory firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), for 21 months after being allegedly found guilty of manipulating procurement processes for a major cross-border electricity project.
In a statement, the Washington-based multilateral lender said PricewaterhouseCoopers Associates Africa Ltd, based in Mauritius, along with its Kenyan and Rwandan affiliates, engaged in “collusive and fraudulent practices” linked to the Eastern Electricity Highway Project, a flagship initiative to transmit hydropower from Ethiopia to Kenya.
The decision sidelines PwC from lucrative World Bank-funded projects on the continent, dealing a blow to one of the region’s most influential audit and advisory firms.
This development could reshape competition for high-value consulting work across emerging markets, potentially disrupting startups and tech firms reliant on World Bank funding, as scrutiny over governance and compliance tightens.
The World Bank, through its private sector arm, International Finance Corporation (IFC), offers grants and low-interest loans to startups across emerging markets.
Earlier this week, the IFC committed $20 million to invest in high-growth startups in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.
“The debarment makes PwC Associates, PwC Kenya, PwC Rwanda, and any affiliates they control ineligible to participate in Bank Group-financed projects and operations,” the World Bank said.
“It is part of a settlement agreement under which the three companies admit culpability for sanctionable practices.”
The determination was based on the company’s conduct between 2019 and the award of contracts for consultancy services and asset valuation work for the Ethiopian state power utilities.
According to the World Bank statement, the firm obtained confidential procurement documents to improperly influence the award of a contract for the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards at the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation.
They also attempted to steer a separate contract for a fixed asset inventory and revaluation for the power utility towards PwC Associates.
During the bidding and execution of that contract, the bank found that the company misrepresented the availability and qualifications of key experts and failed to disclose the full list of subconsultants involved.
According to the World Bank, the debarment is shorter than would otherwise apply because PwC admitted misconduct.
The advisory firm also agreed to a series of remedial measures, including internal investigations, disciplinary action against responsible staff, terminating relationships with all subconsultants involved, and additional staff training.
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